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Joe Trippi

What I saw with Karl Rove on election night

Karl started calling out GOP leaning counties in Florida and I started to call out the percentages Obama and Romney were getting in them. Rove quickly pointed out that Romney was performing two percentage points ahead of the 2008 McCain percentage in these counties. I called out Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade and the Obama and Romney percentages in those huge Democratic leaning counties – and early on Obama was performing 2.8 points ahead of where he did in 2008. Obama was winning Hillsborough county by 6 points! It was going to be close – really close. It’s was almost like that first night in Iowa we had together at the beginning of the whole thing – Karl convinced Romney would pull it out by a few votes – and I was convinced Obama had Florida. Florida! What a chicken – I started kicking myself some more. …

I blurted out to Chris Wallace and Karl Rove, “Do they understand the implications of that call?” I felt calling Ohio was tantamount to calling the presidency and thought we would be seeing blazing graphics declaring Obama reelected. Just as I asked the question I realized immediately why we were not seeing it – I knew Florida was gone to Obama – the Decision Desk may have been pretty sure it was going that way but from their perch Obama was not over 270 electoral votes yet – neither Virginia nor Florida had been called. Chris looked at me like I was on Mars and said “Of course they understand what this means – but we have to wait for those other states to call it”.

Just then Karl Rove’s phone rang it was someone in the Romney campaign….you know the rest.

Blowback

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It’s generally not a good idea to rely on the person who’s thrown his will into obtaining a result for honest prognostication on that result, no matter how allegedly smart he is. When they’re right, it’s because they won, not the other way around.

Fox lets Rove have too much time and usually doesn’t challenge him enough but this wasn’t an example of it. It was good TV and well handled. They had Trippi right next to him giving his views and the anchors were challenging him.

The liberal Fox haters (see above) will jump on anything to bash it even if they have to make it up.

While they were both wrong in their projections, there is no reason to hate them.

What was really decided, once and for all (I hope), is that chasing the ‘undecided’ or ‘moderate’ voter is silly. Candidates need to make their positions clear and convince voters they know how to lead!

The liberal Fox haters (see above) will jump on anything to bash it even if they have to make it up.

SteveMG on November 13, 2012 at 4:41 PM

I’m not a liberal nor a Fox hater. When Meghan Kelley called it for Ohio, both Karl Rove and Michael Barone barked back at her and said “no no no, our numbers show it’s still to close to call”. They looked silly and childish.

Fox needs fresh blood and criticizing them does not make one a hater nor a liberal.

The only ones who made fooled of themselves on election day, were the Democrats who voted for the Marxist from Hell Barack Hussein Obama, thereby ensuring that our country committed national suicide.

So what Rove, Morris made some mistakes. The big mistake is the guy occupying the White House.

Let’s all divorce and defriend any and all the Democrats in our lives. Don’t have anything else to do with them ever. Don’t talk to them, don’t work with them, don’t do business with them, don’t ever break bread with them at the dinner table.

Let’s all divorce and defriend any and all the Democrats in our lives. Don’t have anything else to do with them ever. Don’t talk to them, don’t work with them, don’t do business with them, don’t ever break bread with them at the dinner table.

Let’s all divorce and defriend any and all the Democrats in our lives. Don’t have anything else to do with them ever. Don’t talk to them, don’t work with them, don’t do business with them, don’t ever break bread with them at the dinner table.

Let’s all divorce and defriend any and all the Democrats in our lives. Don’t have anything else to do with them ever. Don’t talk to them, don’t work with them, don’t do business with them, don’t ever break bread with them at the dinner table.

Make sure everyone of them is out of your life for good.

ericdondero on November 13, 2012 at 5:33 PM

A bit extreme, but I will definitely hold them responsible (vocally) when things fall apart.